An Overview of the Anchorage
Homeless Prevention & Response System
Prevention & Diversion
Eviction prevention: serves lowing and people who have received an eviction notice.
Homeless prevention: serves extremely vulnerable people who are about to lose their housing.
Diversion: serves people who have lost housing and are facing imminent entry into shelter or sleeping outside.
– “Homelessness Prevention, Diversion, and Rapid Exit” USICH, July 2019
Outreach & Navigation
Effective street outreach reaches people who might not otherwise seek assistance or come to the attention of the homelessness service system and ensures that people’s basic needs are met while supporting them along pathways toward housing stability.
– “Core Elements of Effective Street Outreach to People Experiencing Homelessness” USICH, June 2019
Emergency Shelters
Emergency shelters play a critical role in ending homelessness. Effective shelters should embrace a Housing First approach, offer immediate and low-barrier access to anyone facing a housing crisis, and measure shelter performance in order to improve results.
– “Emergency Shelter Learning Series” NAEH, April 25, 2017
On-Going Supports
Ongoing supports include providing necessary services to families and individuals who have experienced homelessness to ensure that they can remain successfully housed.
– “Supportive Services Only (SSO)” HUD Exchange
Housing
Transitional Housing: Providing interim stability and support to move to and maintain permanent housing successfully. Learn More…
Rapid Rehousing: Designed to help people quickly exit homelessness & return to housing. Learn More…
Permanent Supportive Housing: Combines housing assistance with support services to address the needs of chronically homeless people. Learn More…
Overview of the Continuum of Care
A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a regional or local planning body that coordinates housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals. CoCs represent communities of all kinds, including major cities, suburbs, and rural areas. In Alaska, there are two CoCs, the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, which serves the greater Anchorage area from Girdwood to Chugiak, and our partner organization the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness which serves the remainder of the state.
Research, Information, & Resources
Prevention & Diversion
- “Homelessness Prevention, Diversion, and Rapid Exit” USICH, HUD, & VA, July 2019
- “Prevent Homelessness” USICH, June 27, 2018
Outreach & Navigation
- Anchorage Coordinated Entry
- “Resource Roundup for Addressing Encampments“ USICH, July 29, 2022
- “Core Elements of Effective Street Outreach to People Experiencing Homelessness“ USICH, June 2019
Emergency Shelters
- “Emergency Shelter Learning Series“ NAEH, April 25, 2017
- “Emergency Shelter“ USICH, June 27, 2018
On-Going Supports
- “Supportive Services Only (SSO)” HUD Exchange
Transitional Housing
- “What is Transitional Housing?” HUD Exchange
Rapid ReHousing
- “Rapid Re-Housing Works” NAEH
- “Rapid Re-Housing Toolkit” NAEH, March 22, 2022
- “Critical Time Intervention for Rapid Re-Housing” NAEH, April 6, 2021
Permanent Supportive Housing
- “Permanent Supportive Housing” NAEH, Updated March 2021
Housing 1st
- “Pressure Points Resource Series” NAEH, April 14, 2022
- “Data Visualization: The Evidence on Housing First“ NLIHC, May 25, 2021
Equity
- “The Alliance’s Racial Equity Network Toolkit” NAEH, updated in March 2021
- “CoC Analysis Tool: Race and Ethnicity“ HUD Exchange, March 2022
CoC Essentials
According to Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a CoC is “a community plan to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of people who are homeless as they move to stable housing and maximize self-sufficiency. It includes action steps to end homelessness and prevent a return to homelessness.” HUD identifies five necessary parts of a continuum:
- Outreach, intake, and assessment in order to identify service and housing needs and provide a link to the appropriate level of both;
- Emergency shelter to provide an immediate and safe alternative to sleeping on the streets, especially for homeless families with children;
- Transitional housing with supportive services to allow for the development of skills that will be needed once permanently housed;
- Permanent and permanent supportive housing to provide individuals and families with an affordable place to live with services if needed;
- Supportive services, including homeless prevention activities